Introduction
Character, self-discipline, and personal growth are indeed very crucial to effective leadership. As Lipman-Blumen (2017) notes, effective leadership can only be achieved if the leader understands the intra-personal and inter-personal relations between employees and employers. At the same time, inter-personal and intra-personal relations are equally important for leaders and their followers. The paper examines the three mentioned elements, character, self-discipline, and personal growth, and determines how they affect leadership. The assumption made is that the three said elements are critical for operative leadership. The essay highlights some of the ideas and studies that support the given premise from scholarly studies done in the near past.
Character and Effective Leadership
Delmatoff and Lazarus (2014) argue that character has a direct impact on effective leadership. According to the authors, there are fifteen aspects of character that have to be considered when thinking about effective management. This paper will highlight some of the important aspects provided by Maxwell (2018) in regards to effective leadership. One of the aspects is the feeling of being indispensable.
Maxwell (2018) argues that the feeling of being very important to the company or organization goes against the spirit of humility and service. Thus, a leader should have a spirit of humility and service to be effective. The second element to consider is mental and emotional petrification (Maxwell, 2018). Towards this end, an effective leader should have a character that illuminates strong mental and emotional stability. In turn, this will ensure that the leader has an open mind and is accommodating to the different personalities of the followers.
Flexibility is another desirable aspect of the character of a successful leader. According to Maxwell (2018), excessive planning and functionalism will lead to inflexibility. It can be argued that in the ever-changing world, flexibility is crucial in the implementation of strategies. It is also important to note that an effective leader should show empathy. Lipman-Blumen (2017) agrees that when he or she thinks about others, the leader will be better placed to understand some of the decisions that are made by their employees. Additionally, such leaders give their employees enough room to grow and be more productive.
According to Lipman-Blumen (2017), extravagance is not a good aspect of character for a leader. An extravagant leader will focus on recognition and power. Such a character will attract fear and little respect from the employees.
Self-Discipline and Effective Leadership
According to Maxwell (2018), self-discipline is having a grip on oneself. For effective management, the leader has to have a grip on their emotions, actions, and decisions. One can argue that discipline goes hand in hand with character. The argument on whether self-discipline can be taught is longstanding, just as the argument that effective leadership is born and not made. Despite this, one can agree that self-control is very important at any level of decision-making. Rhode (2017) argues that for a leader to acquire this trait, he or she has to learn to lead himself or herself first. The premise suggests that the leader has to ensure that each action and decision made would also be appreciated if the leader was the subordinate. Empathy, thus, plays an important role in the development of self-disciple.
Still, on self-discipline, the leader has to ensure that all temptations that would negatively affect his or her position are kept in check. For example, a leader who has a weakness of over-indulgence, should culture self-restraint to use all the available resources well. Rhode (2017) argues that self-control in leadership not only affects the employees but also the leader him/herself. The leader can uphold his or her own decisions and actions.
It is important to note that a leader not only manages the people under him/her but also manages resources. Self-discipline will ensure that the leader uses the resources accordingly. On the same breath, self-control involves proper planning. Thus, it ties well with the arguments proposed under “character and effective leadership”. To ensure that self-restraint leads to operative management, the leader also has to appreciate the impact of hard-work. Thus, self-discipline also assures hard and quality work, making it a great attributor to effective leadership.
Personal Growth and Effective Leadership
Anyone in a position of leadership will be highly motivated by personal growth just like in any other job position. It is important to note that personal development has two aspects, personal career growth, and personality growth. Different organizations have different strategies to ensure personal growth. Some use incentives such as money to motivate individuals while others use non-financial approaches. One clear thing, though, is the relevance of the feeling and evidence of personal development to every leader.
Whereas each leader has their own career goals set, personal career goals are mainly affected by the motivation for work. Ideally, many subordinates usually consider personal growth as a promotion to management. However, senior managers and leaders cannot depend on promotions for personal progress. Such individuals can experience personal development by mentoring others (Maxwell, 2018).
For instance, it is common to find very senior managers giving talks in universities about their experiences. Through such interactions, the managers not only mentor future generations but also get the insights of other people that might, in turn, help them with their work. According to Maxwell (2018), for effective leadership, the leader should take on five activities to ensure they have personal growth even in the top-most position. The five activities are, always asking questions, keeping the bar of excellence high, being people-centric, remaining today-focused, and being posture conscious (Maxwell, 2018).
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is a direct relationship between character, self-discipline and personal growth, and great leadership. It is important to note that great leaders are made, not born. Towards this end, therefore, great leaders have to learn characteristics that support their leadership style. Some of the desirable characteristics of a good leader include empathetic, open-minded, humility and service, and flexibility. Character is supported by self-control.
Towards this end, self-discipline affects both the leader and the subordinates under him or her. It is a self-discipline that ensures the leader uses given resources effectively while managing his or her team effectively as well.
Last but not least, personal growth also affects effective leadership. A leader just like any other employee in an organization has to feel motivated to do his or her job. Since many leaders are at the top of the corporate ladder, using promotions to motivate them is not an option. However, activities such as representing the company in large conferences, giving them a chance to mentor others, and also giving them more chances to influence decision making will help them achieve personal development at that high level.
References
Delmatoff, J., & Lazarus, I. R. (2014). The most effective leadership style for the new landscape of healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Management, 59(4), 245-249.
Lipman-Blumen, J. (2017). Connective leadership in an interdependent and diverse world. Roeper Review, 39(3), 170-173.
Maxwell, C. J. (2018). Developing the leader in you 2.0. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishing.
Rhode, D. L. (2017). Leadership in Law. Stanford Law Review, 69(6), 1603-1666.